From July/August 2016 Newsletter, “Gimme Some o’ That!”

This last month and a half has been a (wonderful) whirlwind of travel and teaching:
Oregon, Omega, Kripalu. One of the most memorable pieces for me was during a 5-day
program that I led with dear friend and colleague Jovinna Chan — A Wild Life Sanctuary (TM) for Humans — five
days of re-wilding and un-domesticating ourselves through dance, voice, play, nature
and inquiry. A few minutes before the retreat began, we turned on music and began
to dance through the space to bless it and one another for the week of adventure
ahead: Jovinna, Michael Purcell and Jeff Costa (our amazing and fabulous assistants),
and myself.

One of our participants arrived quite early, and rather than stop what we were doing,
we invited him to join us in our blessings. Being the open-minded, open-hearted
soul that he is, ‘Arthur’ dove right in. From there, others arrived, and again,
rather than stop what we were doing, we decided to ‘go with the flow’ since that
was what the week was about! Soon, within seconds of meeting one another, before
knowing anything about one another, we were dancing our blessings to one another
— perfect strangers — and it was wonderful!

This improvised opening set the foundation for what was to be one of the most enjoyable
weeks I’ve ever spent as a teacher. It was a week was full of surprise, invention,
discovery…and sweetness! The amount of sweetness surprised and delighted me. It
turns out that — given the opportunity to play, and in that play to cultivate more
of what we would each like more of in life — most of us want more sweetness —
kindness, compassion, love, affection, warmth, human connection. That’s what we
all got a whole lot of all week long!

What would you like more of in your life? Affection? Acceptance? Peace? Courage?
Hope? Whatever it might be, find a way to give it to someone today. Help someone
else experience some of that. I guarantee that you will experience more of it yourself.
If you’re lonely, reach out and connect. If you long for more joy, do something
to delight a beloved — or better yet, a stranger! That’s playing on the wild side!
On the Wild Life Sanctuary side!

Many blessings to you and yours, and until next time, may you enjoy every drop of
summer!